A business card is the workhorse of commerce: the fundamental marketing tool to tell a client the who, what, where, when, why and how of your business. It is the primary source of reference and has the longest shelf life of any printed information you give customers... and potential customers!

So why do most business cards still look the bland and lack important content? How can you improve your business card to maximize it's efficiency? Here's some tips on making sure your business card does the heavy lifting it's supposed to do.

Take 50 business cards you've collected over the years and spread them out on the table. Close your eyes for a few seconds, open them and take note of which cards stand out from the crowd. Here's what you?ll see:

Red:every card that had red on it popped, and not just a little. They stood out like a cardinal on a snowy day.

Photos: Your portrait on a business card is a great thing. This not only makes the card unique but helps connect faces with names and companies.

Vertical: Cards formatted vertically, catch the eye. Vertical formatting goes against the grain of tradition and stands above the fray.Black Background: most cards are white. The black ones REALLY stand out. The careful use of black is a winner and give your card a classic look.

Image: cards with some sort of colorful image that took up at least one fourth of the total surface area captures peoples interest.

Content: make sure all information is there, including email addresses and websites. And by using the back side of the card, or using a "tent" card format, you can maximize content.